CentOS 7 Server Deployment Cookbook
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About this ebook
Timothy Boronczyk
Timothy Boronczyk is a native of Syracuse, NY, where during the day he works as a programmer at ShoreGroup, Inc., and at night freelances under his D.B.A. Salt City Tech and helps out as the managing editor of PHPMaster. He's been involved in Web design since 1998, has a degree in Software Application Programming, and is a Zend Certified Engineer. In what little spare time he has left, Timothy enjoys hanging out with friends, studying Esperanto, and sleeping with his feet off the end of the bed. He's easily distracted by shiny objects.
Read more from Timothy Boronczyk
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CentOS 7 Server Deployment Cookbook - Timothy Boronczyk
Table of Contents
CentOS 7 Server Deployment Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Why subscribe?
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Sections
Getting ready
How to do it…
How it works…
There's more…
See also
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Errata
Piracy
Questions
1. Getting Started with CentOS
Introduction
Installing CentOS using Anaconda in graphics mode
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Installing CentOS using Anaconda in text mode
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Coordinating multiple installations using Kickstart
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Running a cloud image with Amazon Web Services' EC2
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Installing a container image from the Docker Registry
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Installing the GNOME desktop
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Installing the KDE Plasma desktop
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
2. Networking
Introduction
Setting a static IP address
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Binding multiple addresses to a single Ethernet device
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Bonding two Ethernet devices
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring the network firewall with FirewallD
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring the network firewall using iptables
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Installing a DHCP server
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring an NFS server to share a filesystem
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring an NFS client to use a shared filesystem
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Serving Windows shares with Samba
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
3. User and Permission Management
Introduction
Escalating privileges with sudo
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Enforcing password restrictions
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Setting default permissions for new files and directories
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Running binaries as a different user
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Working with SELinux for greater security
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
4. Software Installation Management
Introduction
Registering the EPEL and Remi repositories
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Prioritizing repositories using the Priorities plugin
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Automating software updates with yum-cron
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Verifying installed RPM packages
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Compiling a program from source
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
5. Managing Filesystems and Storage
Introduction
Viewing the size of files and available storage
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Setting storage limits for users and groups
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Creating a RAM disk
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Creating a RAID
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Replacing a device in a RAID
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Creating a new LVM volume
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Removing an existing LVM volume
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Adding storage and growing an LVM volume
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Working with LVM snapshots
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
6. Allowing Remote Access
Introduction
Running commands remotely through SSH
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring a more secure SSH login
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Securely connecting to SSH without a password
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Restricting SSH access by user or group
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Protecting SSH with Fail2ban
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Confining sessions to a chroot jail
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring TigerVNC
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Tunneling VNC connections through SSH
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
7. Working with Databases
Introduction
Setting up a MySQL database
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Backing up and restoring a MySQL database
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring MySQL replication
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Standing up a MySQL cluster
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Setting up a MongoDB database
Getting ready
How to do it…
How it works...
See also
Backing up and restoring a MongoDB database
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring a MongoDB replica set
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Setting up an OpenLDAP directory
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Backing up and restoring an OpenLDAP database
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
8. Managing Domains and DNS
Introduction
Setting up BIND as a resolving DNS server
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring BIND as an authoritative DNS server
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Writing a reverse lookup zone file
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Setting up a slave DNS server
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring rndc to control BIND
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
9. Managing E-mails
Introduction
Configuring Postfix to provide SMTP services
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Adding SASL to Postfix with Dovecot
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring Postfix to use TLS
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring Dovecot for secure POP3 and IMAP access
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Targeting spam with SpamAssassin
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Routing messages with Procmail
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
10. Managing Web Servers
Introduction
Installing Apache HTTP Server and PHP
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring name-based virtual hosting
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring Apache to serve pages over HTTPS
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Enabling overrides and performing URL rewriting
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Installing NGINX as a load balancer
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
11. Safeguarding Against Threats
Introduction
Sending messages to Syslog
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Rotating log files with logrotate
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Using Tripwire to detect modified files
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Using ClamAV to fight viruses
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Checking for rootkits with chkrootkit
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Using Bacula for network backups
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works
See also
12. Virtualization
Introduction
Creating a new virtual machine
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Cloning a virtual machine
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Adding storage to a virtual machine
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Connecting USB peripherals to a guest system
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
Configuring a guest's network interface
Getting ready
How to do it...
How it works...
See also
CentOS 7 Server Deployment Cookbook
CentOS 7 Server Deployment Cookbook
Copyright © 2016 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: September 2016
Production reference: 1270916
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham
B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78328-888-5
www.packtpub.com
Credits
About the Author
Timothy Boronczyk is a native of Syracuse, New York, where he works as a lead developer at Optanix, Inc. (formerly ShoreGroup, Inc.). He's been involved with web technologies since 1998, has a degree in Software Application Programming, and is a Zend Certified Engineer. In what little spare time he has left, Timothy enjoys hanging out with friends, studying Esperanto, and sleeping with his feet off the end of the bed. He's easily distracted by shiny objects.
About the Reviewer
Mitja Resman comes from a small, beautiful country called Slovenia, located in southern Central Europe. Mitja is a fan of Linux and is an open source enthusiast. Mitja is a Red Hat Certified Engineer and Linux Professional Institute professional. Working as a system administrator, Mitja got years of professional experience with open source software and Linux system administration on local and international projects worldwide. The swiss army knife syndrome makes Mitja an expert in the field of VMware virtualization, Microsoft system administration, and lately, also Android system administration.
Mitja has a strong desire to learn, develop, and share knowledge with others. This is the reason he started a blog called GeekPeek.Net (https://geekpeek.net/). GeekPeek.Net provides CentOS Linux guides and How to articles covering all sorts of topics appropriate for beginners and advanced users. He wrote a book, CentOS High Availability by Packt Publishing, covering the topic of how to install, configure, and manage clusters on CentOS Linux.
Mitja is also a devoted father and husband. His two daughters and wife are the ones who take his mind off the geek stuff and make him appreciate life, looking forward to things to come.
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Preface
For over a decade, the CentOS project has provided the community with a free, enterprise-grade operating system through the rebranding and recompilation of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux source. Since CentOS users rely almost exclusively on the community for their support needs, I was keen to write this book when Packt approached me about the project's latest release, CentOS 7. The recipes we chose cover a wide range of topics, from getting started to managing many common web services, and hopefully administrators of any skill level will find something of interest.
However, writing a book is a huge undertaking. Because of this, I want to thank the staff at Packt, my family, and my friends, for their support. The dog needs to be taken for a walk, family engagements need attending, and emergencies arise at the workplace. Without the understanding and encouragement of those around me and the editorial staff, you wouldn't be reading this book.
What this book covers
The recipes presented in this book aim to make even the most difficult configuration tasks easy by providing step-by-step instructions and discussion. Here's a quick rundown of what you can expect from each of the 12 chapters.
Chapter 1, Getting Started with CentOS, contains recipes for installing CentOS using graphical, text-based, and kick-start approaches. How to set up a CentOS platform for projects running Docker and on Amazon Web Services is also discussed.
Chapter 2, Networking, contains recipes to help you complete common networking tasks, such as how to set up a static IP address, assign multiple addresses to a single network interface, bond multiple interfaces with the same address, and configure the system's firewall using FirewallD and iptables. It also presents recipes for configuring network services such as DHCP, NFS, and Samba.
Chapter 3, User and Permission Management, shows you how to increase the security of your system by enforcing password restrictions, adjusting the default permissions given to newly created files and directories, and the use of sudo to avoid circulating the root password. How to work with SELinux is also discussed.
Chapter 4, Software Installation Management, provides recipes focused on working with software repositories and installing software. You'll learn how to register the EPEL and Remi repositories, prioritize the repositories packages are installed from, and update your software automatically. You'll also learn how to compile and install software from source code.
Chapter 5, Managing Filesystems and Storage, presents recipes that show you how to set up and work with RAID and with LVM. These services leverage your system's storage to maintain availability, increase reliability, and to keep your data safe against inevitable disk failures.
Chapter 6, Allowing Remote Access, aims to help you provide remote access to your CentOS system in a secure manner. Its recipes cover using SSH, configuring a chroot jail, and tunneling VNC connections through an encrypted SSH tunnel.
Chapter 7, Working with Databases, collects recipes that provide you with the necessary steps to get started with various database services such as MySQL, MongoDB, and OpenLDAP. You'll also learn how to provide backup and redundancy for these services.
Chapter 8, Managing Domains and DNS, takes us into the world of DNS. The recipes show you how to set up a resolving DNS server to decrease latency caused by domain lookups and how to manage your own domain with an authoritative DNS server.
Chapter 9, Managing E-mails, will help you set up your own mail server. The recipes discuss configuring Postfix to provide SMTP services, configuring Dovecot to provide IMAP and POP3 services, and securing these services with TLS. You'll also find instructions on how to set up SpamAssassin to help reduce unsolicited bulk e-mails.
Chapter 10, Managing Web Servers, contains recipes about configuring Apache to server web content. You'll learn how to set up name-based virtual hosting, server pages over HTTPS, and perform URL rewriting. How to set up NGINX as a load balancer is also discussed.
Chapter 11, Safeguarding Against Threats, contains recipes to help protect the investment you've made in your CentOS server. They cover logging, threat monitoring, virus and rootkits, and network backups.
Chapter 12, Virtualization, shows you how CentOS can function as a host operating system to one or more virtualized guests. This allows you to take better advantage of your hardware resources by running multiple operating systems on the same physical system.
What you need for this book
To follow the recipes in this book, first and foremost you'll need a system capable of running CentOS 7. The minimum requirements (and maximum capabilities) are documented in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux knowledge base available online at https://access.redhat.com/articles/rhel-limits. In brief, you'll need a system that has the following:
x86_64 processor (RHEL/CentOS 7 does not support x86)
1 GB RAM
8 GB Disk capacity
Apart from a system to install CentOS on, you'll also need a copy of the CentOS installation media and a working network connection. You can download a copy directly from https://www.centos.org/download/ or using BitTorrent.
Who this book is for
This book is for Linux professionals with basic Unix/Linux functionality experience, perhaps even having set up a server before, who want to advance their knowledge in administering various services.
Sections
In this book, you will find several headings that appear frequently (Getting ready, How to do it..., How it works..., There's more..., and See also).
To give clear instructions on how to complete a recipe, we use these sections as follows.
Getting ready
This section tells you what to expect in the recipe, and describes how to set up any software or any preliminary settings required for the recipe.
How to do it…
This section contains the steps required to follow the recipe.
How it works…
This section usually consists of a detailed explanation of what happened in the previous section.
There's more…
This section consists of additional information about the recipe in order to make the reader more knowledgeable about the recipe.
See also
This section provides helpful links to other useful information for the recipe.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: The repositories' configuration files are found in the /etc/yum.repos.d directory.
A block of code is set as follows:
[sshd]
enabled=true
bantime=86400
maxretry=5
Any command-line input or output is written as follows:
firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=dns
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: Select your desired language and click on Continue.
Note
Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.
Tip
Tips and tricks appear like this.
Reader feedback
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book-what you liked or disliked. Reader feedback is important for us as it helps us develop titles that you will really get the most out of.
To send us general feedback, simply e-mail feedback@packtpub.com, and mention the book's title in the subject of your message.
If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide at www.packtpub.com/authors.
Customer support
Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to get the most from your purchase.
Errata
Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books-maybe a mistake in the text or the code-we would be grateful if you could report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/submit-errata, selecting your book, clicking on the Errata Submission Form link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata will be uploaded to our website or added to any list of existing errata under the Errata section of that title.
To view the previously submitted errata, go to https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/support and enter the name of the book in the search field. The required information will appear under the Errata section.
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Piracy of copyrighted material on the Internet is an ongoing problem across all media. At Packt, we take the protection of our copyright and licenses very seriously. If you come across any illegal copies of our works in any form on the Internet, please provide us with the location address or website name immediately so that we can pursue a remedy.
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We appreciate your help in protecting our authors and our ability to bring you valuable content.
Questions
If you have a problem with any aspect of this book, you can contact us at questions@packtpub.com, and we will do our best to address the problem.
Chapter 1. Getting Started with CentOS
This chapter contains the following recipes:
Installing CentOS using Anaconda in graphics mode
Installing CentOS using Anaconda in text mode
Coordinating multiple installations using Kickstart
Running a cloud image with Amazon Web Services' EC2
Installing a container image from the Docker Registry
Installing the GNOME desktop
Installing the KDE Plasma desktop
Introduction
This chapter's recipes focus on getting up and running with CentOS using a variety of installation methods. You'll learn how to perform interactive graphical and text-based installations using Anaconda and perform an unattended installation using Kickstart. You'll also see how to run CentOS in the cloud with Amazon Web Services and in a Docker container image. Most of the recipes in this book take place at the command prompt, but some require a graphical desktop, so we'll finish up with a look at installing the GNOME and KDE Plasma desktops.
Installing CentOS using Anaconda in graphics mode
In this recipe, you'll learn how to install CentOS using the graphical installer Anaconda. This is the most common way that CentOS is installed, although there are other ways too (some of which are discussed in later recipes). This approach is also the easiest installation method, especially for setting up single-server deployments.
Getting ready
This recipe assumes that you have a copy of the CentOS 7 installation medium. If you don't, visit https://www.centos.org and download a minimal ISO image. You'll also need to make a physical disc from the image. Instructions for burning the ISO image to disc can be found at https://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/CD_burning_howto.html.
Tip
If your system doesn't have an optical drive and its BIOS supports booting from a USB device, you can also write the ISO image to a USB stick.
How to do it...
Follow these steps to install CentOS using the graphical installer Anaconda:
Insert the installation disc into your system's optical drive (or USB stick into a USB port) and reboot. The system should boot to the CentOS 7 installation menu:
The installer is launched from the installation menu
Note
If your system doesn't boot to the installation menu then the drive may not be configured as a boot device. The exact steps to verify and adjust the configuration vary between BIOS vendors, but in general you'll press Esc, F1, F2, or Delete while the system is booting to gain access to the BIOS settings. Then you'll find the list of boot devices and change the order in which each is searched for a boot record.
Using the arrow keys, make sure that the Install CentOS 7 option is highlighted and press Enter.
The WELCOME TO CENTOS 7 screen confirms which language to use during the installation process. Select your desired language and click on Continue:
You can change the